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Here in the nation’s capital, we’re citizens the world — and of Ontario — so we’ll be taking the big issues into account come June 12, whether it’s the troubling level of the deficit and debt, how best to help create jobs, or which of the main parties’ leaders we trust to lead us over the next four (or fewer) years. But there are uber-local campaign questions in which only Ottawans will be interested, and over which we’ll be keeping watch during the next six weeks.

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When Louis “Lou” Guertin sat down to chat with me last week, one of the first things we realized was that we had loved the same woman, as had millions of others. The 93-year-old retired Ottawa police sergeant and Second World War veteran is now a resident at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre.

The acquittal of former Nortel Networks chief executive Frank Dunn and two top financial aides has angered many on online discussion boards who still believe they are bad guys who have escaped justice in the collapse of the networking giant.

Turbocharging is hardly new, but this technique of using exhaust gases to force-feed air and fuel into an engine to boost horsepower (also known as forced induction) is enjoying a resurgence, as car companies seek to deal a blow to the notion that pleasing performance has to come with high fuel consumption.

Used car sales are on the rise: according to Canadian auto industry consultant Dennis DesRosiers, pre-owned vehicle sales made up 65 per cent of the market in 2010, up from 56.6 per cent in 2000. He expects those numbers to continue to grow, predicting a 28 per cent increase between 2010 and 2019.